William b



vW. B. CARD-.

' Alarm for Drawers. No. 26,813. Patented .Janv 10. 1860.

41/. fZ/'////////////////////////// ///A UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. CARD, OF $AG HARBOR, NE" YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOHN SHERRY, OF SAME PLACE.

-. ALARM FOR DRAWERS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 26,818, dated January 10, 1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. CARD, of Sag Harbor, in the county of Suffolk and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Alarm Attachment for Drawers or Tills; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of my invention, applied to a drawer or till m, 00, Fig. 2, indicating the plane of section. Fig. 2 is also a vertical section of my invention, taken in the line 3 y, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached side view of one of the levers of ditto.

Similar letters of-reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists in a novel arrangement of levers and stops with a knobarbor and an alarm placed within a suitable case and applied to a drawer or till substantially as hereinafter described, whereby the drawer or till cannot be illegitimately opened, or an effort made to thus open it, without an alarm being sounded.

The invention is chiefly designed for tills in stores to prevent the abstraction of money by shop-lifters and the like.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a case which may be of metal of any suitable form, and attached to the inner surface of the front side of a drawer or till B, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. VVit-hin the case A, an ordinary cheek alarm C, is placed.

a is a hell; 6, the hammer; e, the escape wheel; (Z, the pallets; e, the gear; f, the barrel or shaft, and g, the spring. These parts do not require a minute description for they are in common use, and well known as forming an alarm attachment for clocks.

On one side of the escape wheel cl, there is a pin h, which projects laterally from the escape wheel, and D, is a bar, one end of which is secured by a pivot 2', within the lock case, the opposite end being within the path of the movement of the pin h, and

serving as a stop for the same and consequently for the alarm. Th1s 1s clearly shown in F 1g. 2.

E F G represent three levers which have a comm on fulcrum 7'. The levers are all forked at their lower ends, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3; and in the forks of these levers the upper ends of thumb keys 7:, fit. These thumb keys are fitted on a common rod Z, and they project down through the bottom of the drawer or till, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. The upper ends of the levers F, G, are forked and the bar D, is fitted therein, as shown clearly in Figs. .1 and 3. The lever E, is curved at its upper end so as to pass around the bar D, and project underneath a horizontal bar H, which is attached to a vertical slide bar I, within the case A, said slide having its upper part of cylindrical form, and projecting through the top of the case, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. The slide I, is slotted, and an arbor or spindle J, passes horizontally through the arbor or spindle, and also through the front of the drawer or till. The arbor or spindle has a knob K, 011 its outer end, and a pendent lip Z, is attached to its under surface, and there is a projection on, on its upper surface. The pendent Z, is beveled or inclined at its front edge, and the projection m, is beveled at its back edge, as shown clearly in Fig. 1.

To the slide I, below the arbor or spindle J, there is a curved projection 12 and the side of the bar D, which is opposite to the projection m, is rounded. Around the lower part of the slide I, there is a spiral spring 0, which has a tendency to keep the slide in an elevated state. In the upper part of the case A, and directly above the horizontal bar H, a sliding bar L, is placed transversely. This bar has its under side beveled, or inclined, as shown at p, and a projection g, is also formed on its under side. A spring 1, is connected to the bar L, which spring has a tendency to keep the projection 9, over the bar H, of the slide 1.

To the under side of the counter or table M, in which the drawer or till is placed, a projection s, is attached at a certain point, the use of which will be presently shown, and in the under side of the counter, or table a hole or recess t, is made to receive the upper end of the slide I, when the drawer is closed.

WVhen the drawer or till is closed, as shown in Fig. 1, the upper end of the slide I, will be in the hole or recess t, in the counter and the drawer or till will be locked; and in order to open the drawer or till the slide I, must be depressed. This can only be done without sounding an alarm by actuating the thumb key 70, which is connected with the lever E, and throwing said lever out from underneath the bar H, of the slide I, at the same time pressing inward the knob K,'so that the pendent Z, of the arbor or spindle J, will, by acting against the projection u, force down the slide so that its upper end will be out from the hole or recess t, in the counter of table M. By this mode of operation it will be seen that the bar D, which serves as a stop to the alarm will not be moved or disturbed, and consequently no alarm will be sounded. In case however either of the other two thumb keys 70, is, which are connected withthe levers F, G, be operated, the bar J, will be elevated, and the end of said bar moved above and free from the pin it, of the ratchet c, and if the spring 9, be moved up an alarm will, of course, be sounded, and if the knob K, be drawn outward, as a person ignorant of the construction of the device WOllldIlfltllIfillY do, the projection m, of the arbor or spindle will raise the bar D, and an alarm will also be sounded. In order therefore to open the drawer or till silently the position of the lever E, must be known as well as the arrangement of the arbor or spindle J. The operation of the latter is always the same, but the position of the lever E, may be changed on its fulcrum rod as often asdesired, so that if its position at any time should become known to any but the proper person or persons it may be changed at once.

When the slide I, is moved down free from the hole or recess 25, it is retained in a depressed state by the slide bar L, which by means of the spring r, has its projection g, brought over the bar H, of the slide as shown in red, Fig. 2. As the drawer or till is closed, however, the slide bar L, strikes the projection s, 'at the under side of the counter or table M, and said bar is forced 7 der the bar H, when the slide I, is raised by the spring 0, and retains the slide in an elevated position and consequently the drawer or till in a locked state. The spring a, has a tendency to retain the bar D, down in'the forks of the levers F, G, and in line with the pin h, of the ratchet 0 I do not claim, in itself considered, the alarm C, for that is an old and well known device. But

I do claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The slide I, arranged with the bar H, and knob arbor or spindle J, levers E, F, G, and stop bar D, and 'used in connection with the alarm C, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. I further claim .the slide bar L, when arranged with the bar H, of the slide I, in connection with the projection s, on the u'n der side of the counter or table M, as and for the purpose set forth.

I WM. B. CARD.

Witnesses: 7

JOHN SHEIRY, JAMES H. PRICE. 

